Q and A: Thaksin Sits Down With Forbes

What follows is an abridged transcript of a Forbes interview with Thaksin Shinawatra in Dubai on Oct. 23, 2012:

Q. How have you been spending your time?

Thaksin: Most of the time I travel, meeting old friends, strengthening the relationship between Thailand and nations. We discuss ideas for countries to work together. I want to harness the relationships and they are still supporting me. What I promised, I delivered.

Q. Is there any place that you’d like to go but you couldn’t go?

T. Only Thailand. I have visa to all other countries… I use Thai passport on business visa… During the crackdown [in Thailand] the previous government sent letters to many countries asking them [not] to host me. Most of the countries asked me please don’t come yet. Because they knew the problem in Thailand very well and they just didn’t want the conflict with the government at the time.

So at that time I traveled a lot to Russia where I have a good relationship, and I also went to Africa, and I met with my old friends there. They invite me to do business in their countries. I asked them, what should I do, what kind of business should I do here? And they said why don’t you do mining. I said what do you have? And they said they have gold, we have plenty. I don’t have any experience with mining, and I learned from there.

I ‘ve got concessions for exploration in Uganda and Tanzania, and titanium concession in Zimbabwe. We found gold and titanium already…

The first report will come out next month, and some will come out in January. We will start [mining] gold in Tanzania in February (2013) Uganda will come next year. We want to have a full report. We also found a very good reserve of platinum in Uganda.

Q. Do you partner with anyone?

No, in doing mining if you brought strategic partner in the beginning you have no value… Because they are big and you are small. I am like a start up again. Starting up at 60 is not fun. But anyway this is not serious for me. It’s a type of venture.

Q. Not serious in the sense that you didn’t put much money in?

Not much money… so far I have invested about $30 million.

Q. Have you ever got your money from the Shin Corp process back?

I got back part of it, about $1 billion… That’s why I have money to invest.

Q. Do you also invest in telecom?

I’ve been asked to get telecom licenses in many countries but since I know too much I know now not to invest in this sector, which there are too many competitors… In many countries the average revenue per subscriber is too low, not enough.

Q. Just going back to mining, there was a coal project in South Africa…